The Intersection of Music, Life and Death

Sometimes we think of music as an art form that remains aloof from the dust and grime of everyday life--almost as a refuge from reality rather than a means of illustrating it. Yet music can join the fray of controversy just as surely as the visual arts and literature. This month Opera Theatre of St. Louis proves that assertion with its staging of John Adams' 1991 opera, The Death of Klinghoffer.

Adams has already brought recent history to the opera stage through such works as Nixon in China and Dr. Atomic (chronicling the work of Robert Oppenheimer, one of the chief researchers in the quest for nuclear fission). However, no other work of his seems to have struck such a raw nerve as Klinghoffer. The opera is based on the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly disabled American Jew, by Palestinian terrorists in 1985, when they seized the cruise ship Achille Lauro as Klinghoffer and his wife were enjoying a cruise to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary.

How can a frank portrayal of the grim facts of terrorism be considered controversial? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that in our twisted modern world we have lost sight of who is a victim and who is an aggressor. Have you noticed how the word "terrorist" has pretty much disappeared from journalistic vocabulary? We are no longer allowed to label evil as evil. Rather, we use such terms as "militants", or even "independence" or "freedom" fighters--or perhaps "insurgents"--as though words can alter the stark reality of what terrorists do.

Even those who feel sympathy for the Palestinian cause--and, by extension, believe that Hamas and Hezbollah can be trusted as viable "peace" partners--surely realize that violence cannot ultimately win over hearts and minds. Today, sadly, terrorism runs rampant in the world, yet we are loath to recognize it for what it is: a crime against humanity and human values. The recent murders of five members of the Fogel family in Israel, in which a three month infant was brutally stabbed to death by terrorist monsters, or the death of a 16-year old student on a school bus, or the almost daily bombings in Pakistan--all are constant reminders of the battles we must wage on behalf of good and evil.

Adams' music is visceral and pounding. Listeners need no further proof of the power of music to move us and express the entire gamut of human emotions. The minimalist repetition of musical phrases, far from driving the listener to numbness, instead forces the audience to continually confront the action onstage. The libretto to The Death of Klinghoffer was penned by Alice Goodman, herself born Jewish, but who has since converted to Christianity and been ordained an Anglican priest. The family of Klinghoffer was at first furious with what they felt was moral equivalency expressed in the opera. In response, Adams and Goodman revised certain portions of the work. One thing must be remembered though: through the writing of this opera, and its presentation, the memory of Klinghoffer, and all victims of injustice, is kept alive. In an era in which sometimes we fail to remember even the victims of 9-11, the miracle of music ensures that we will not forget. And perhaps remembrance is the first step to healing and the creation of a different world.

The Death of Klinghoffer opens on June 15, 2011, at the Loretto-Hilton theatre, the home of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.